cheyney



S. L. CHEYNEY.

Fruit and Gain Drer.

' Patented April. 28, 1868.

N. PETER Phmwulhugnphnr. wmhingmn. D C,

soLoN L'. cHnYNEY, or Wooster., onto.;

Letters Patent No. 77,253, dated April 28, 186.8.

IMPROVEMENT IN DRIERS.

@La dgar-1r maar it in tipa trttets nisut mit mating gaat nt tip tame.

To ALL wHoM 1rV MAY coNcEnN:

Be't known that I, SOLoN L. CIIEiNEY, of Wooster, in the county of Wayne, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and improved Fruit and'Grain-Drier; and I d o hereby declare that the followingV is a full, clear, and cxactde'script-ion of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to theA annexed drawings, making a part of thisfspecification, in whichy Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section.

Figure 2 isa cross-section.

Figure 3 is anendelevaticn.

Figure 4 is a detached view of the regulator. v

In this invention, the fruit is dried in an oven by means of a currentof hot air caused to How over it from a heater beneath. The peculiar co-nstruction of the apparatus, by which the current is properly directed, and

its heat utilized to the fullest extent, constitutes the main feature of the invention.

In the drawings, A represents the oven or chamber in which the fruit is dried, its inner Walls being provided with brackets a a, upon which rest the shelves B B, that support the fruit. I construct this ovenA generally in the form of a rectangular chamber, as shown in the drawings, though any other form might be used that would answer the purpose as well. The Walls and roof of this chamber are of sheet iron.

The chamber, thus constructed, is enclosed in an outer shell, C C,- of iron, and so attached and supported within the shell that it occupies the position shown in figs. 1 and 2. The outer shell is so formed as to converge toward the walls of the oven, from the bottom to the top of the apparatus, as seen in tig. 2. 1

The bottom of the outer shell has a deep longitudinal depression,- shown at c c, which forms a furnace D. A door, d, is provided for it at the front end of the apparatus, and a hearth, d', is attachedas seen iu tiff.4 1. The fire is placed in this furnace, the smoke, from which passes up around the sides and rear end of the oven A, and over its top, to the line Il', through which it escapes. Its course is clearly shown by the red arrows in the drawings. Y

In order to properly distribute the lheat thus carried to all parts of Athc oven, I attach on each side of it, as shown at E E, tig. 2, the regulator represented in iig. 4. This regulator extends the whole length of theshell C, and is provided with a handle, El, by which it may be turned, like a common stove-damper. Its function is to distribute the current of hot air, smoke, die., that is rising at the sides of the oven, in such a way tlat the heating of the sides of the oven may be perfectly uniform. The cold air, entering the furnace at the door d, would throw the hot air towards the rear end of the'furnace, and would itself rise, halt` heated, at the front end, were nothing provided to counteract it. I accordingly interpose this regulator. At the point Where the hottest air would rise, I do not perfor-ate the regulator, but leave it to entirely intercept the current, as shown at E2. Towards the rear end of the regulator I make a few apertures, because the ascending current at that end is somewhat checked by the obstruction m, hereafter' explained; while at the front end of the regulator I provide a large number of perforations, c e e e, through which the most ofthe smoke, gases, dt'c., ofthe furnace pass up. The whole area oi the perforations made in the regulator-is to equal the area of a horizontal section of the space between the shell and the oven at the upper part of the side-walls of the latter, so4 that as much of the products of combustion will pass through the regulator as can escape over the top of the oven. This neces sitates making the space between the walls of the oven and the shell wider at the bottom than the top, .as herei inbefore referred to.

The current of hot air, smoke, Sac., that rises at the sides and' rear end of the oven, can pass-in over the top of it, on its way to the duc D', only at the sides, and from the middle to the front end of the top of the oven, the latter being extended across the space between the shell and the oven, as shown atm, tig.1,andtted against or riveted to the rear wall of thc shell, so that the smoke, the., cannot pass up beyond it,but coming against it, is obliged to 'turn forward along the sides of the oven. In passing along the sides of the latter, at the tcp of the apparatus, it is still further prevented from passing in over the top ofthe oven by means of a 1wall, n', which rises from the edge of the oven along its top, from its rear end to about its middle, and is fitted ainst the top ofthe shell, entirely obstructing the escape of the smoke, &.c.,rover the oven, until in its course has passed beyond the forward end of the wall, as seen at v.' As soon as it has passed the end, 1J, of the wall,l

is then free to enter the space over the oven, and it rushes in, escaping at the flue, as before explained.

Between the top of the furnace and the bottom of the oven is a space, s, which is filled with cold air from 9ipe,p, at its rear end. The air entering at the pipe is obliged to pass along through this narrow space to e front end of the oven, being thoroughly heated and dried in its course by the furnace beneath. Being disarged into the front end of thc oven at the aperture s', it' rises among the shelves B B, coming in contact th all the fruit, and thoroughly drying it. It then escapes intothe space over the oven through a wide aperre, 1', closed by a damper-slide, 1, by which the iiow ot' air through the apparatus is regulated. The passage s made at or towards the rear end of the roof of the oven, between the walls w w, in order that the smoke, i., may be prevented by those walls from passing down among the fruit, and for the further-purpose of causing e-current of hot air that enters the oven at s to traverse the whole length as well as height of the oven, oroughly heating every part of it, and conveyingaway all the vapor, Sac., from the fruit to the ilue,l

In order that the bottom shelves may not receive too much heat, I obstruct the radiation from the iloor, on ch side of the oven, by providing two receptacles, tt, filled with some non-conducting substance. A space, is left along the centre ot' the floor, between the non-conductors, which permits a free radiation from the or, and produces 4a temperature at the centre of the oven equal to that at the sides.l The shelves B B are ranged in two columns, over the non-conductors, as seen in iig. 2, the space between them'coming directly er the space u. The heat radiated from the thin metallic floor atu is carried up between the columns ot' elves, meeting with no obstruction, and is equally distributed. Instead of making two columns of shelves racks, each shelf may have a longitudinal slot or opening, extending nearly its whole length, and on each le of it a series of shorter openings, extending nearly from the central one to the side edges of the shelf. A oss-section of a. series of shelves of this form, arranged one above another, vonld.prcsent the appearance own in iig. 2. The handle of the damper 11 is shown at 7*".

Another damper, 1t, is 'provided under theappara-tus, to regulate the How of cold air into the pipep.

A deep rack or pan, with slotted bottom, may be set on the top ot' the shell, as seen at L. When the fruit s been about three-fourths dried, it will be burned if allowed to remain in the oven heated to the same degree, d in order to save the trouble, delay, and expense'of' reducing the temperature ofthe oven, and then raising `'aiu as a new lot of fruit is put into it, I take the partially-dried fruit out, and finish the drying ot' it in the ck L.

A great saving of expense may be eil'ected in the construction of this apparatus if the bottom ot' the shell, lich is of cast iron, be cast with a deep groove lalong its side and rear edges,'into which the lower edge of the eetmctal walls of the shell shall enter, and through the walls of which groove they may be securelyV riveted bolted. The front ofv the apparatus consists of o. cast-iron plate or frame, K, cast with a groove to receive e ends of thewalls of the shell, and on its front side provided with one or more doors, 7c c. These doors, for e purpose of lightness and economy, may bemade of a cast-iron frame, la', extending around their edges, eir centre being of sheet iron, riveted to the frame around it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l In an apparatus for drying fruit, I claim the arrangement of the furnace D, chamber s, drying-oven A, pe p, and aperture s', by which the coldair is caused to traverse the whole length of the furnace, in contact th the floor of the drying-oven, in order to'thoroughly heat it and utilize its heat, substantially in the man- :r and for .the purposes specified. l 4

2. In an apparatus for the purpose specied,`I claim the liange mand wall w, in combination with the ertuie 1' and damper 1", substantially as and for the .purposes set forth.

3. I claim the non-conducting beds tt, when arranged along the bottom of the drying-oven, and leaving e space u between them, for the purpose specified.

4. I claim the regulator E, when constructedwith the openings e e, arranged in thc manuel' and for the lrposes specified.

The above specification of my invention signed by me, this 11th day of' February, 1868.

S. L. CHEYNEY. Witnesses:

M. F. McDownLL, AMBER LAcnAr. 

